If viewers were hoping that a gubernatorial candidate in the first major debate since former Rep. Eric Swalwell dropped out was going to shine, they were sorely disappointed.

Six candidates — two Republicans and four Democrats — faced off Wednesday evening in San Francisco for a debate that got testy at times but more or less saw the same talking points and arguments that have been made for months.

The candidates were sorted onstage based off the latest polling: Conservative commentator Steve Hilton and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco took up the middle two spots, flanked by former Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra and billionaire Tom Steyer, with San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan and former Rep. Katie Porter in the wings.

While some contenders had strong moments, no single candidate rose from the pack as the clear leader. The debate was emblematic of the contest as a whole so far: A crowded showdown with multiple Democrats and Republicans — and no clear front-runner, even as the June 2 primary looms and mail-in ballots are set to be delivered to voters May 4.

Here are some highlights from each of the candidates. Not that there were many of those.

Like in past debates, Steyer leaned hard into his progressive messaging on holding powerful corporate interests accountable, fighting climate change, and going after President Donald Trump at every turn. Steyer has seen a modest jump in his polling after Swalwell’s exit while continuing to plow money into his own campaign, totaling some $120 million.

On Wednesday, moderators asked him to address what some considered a flub from March when he declined to grade Gov. Gavin Newsom on homelessness, saying he hadn’t followed the issue closely enough. 

This time he had an answer: B-minus. Steyer said he is in favor of emergency interim housing as opposed to shelters but ducked a question on whether he would forcibly remove people off the streets.

Steyer was spiky and animated on stage throughout and will probably feel he did enough to maintain his position among the Democrat front-runners.

Swalwell’s exit from the race this month sparked something nobody saw coming: Becerra, once considered a long shot, has seen his poll numbers jump.

On Wednesday, however, the momentum and energy didn’t shine through in his stage presence. The former Biden Cabinet secretary did have one highlight during the night, when asked about a news report showing a video of a law enforcement officer grilling a truck driver, who didn’t appear to speak English, about road signs. Moderators asked the candidates whether California Highway Patrol should be giving English proficiency tests to truck drivers.

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Becerra replied: “Is that officer asking everyone he pulls over to explain those road signs, or is he asking only people who look like me? And if he’s doing that, then he’s violating the law.”

Becerra was also asked about rumors surrounding Swalwell’s alleged sexual misconduct, and if he and lawmakers should have acted on those whispers of impropriety. He responded, “Unfortunately, we have a president today who would go after someone based on rumors. That’s not the way we do it in America. We have to have facts.”

If he was hoping to build on his momentum coming into this debate, then this was a missed opportunity for Becerra.

Hilton came to the debate with what is normally considered baggage in a California gubernatorial race: An endorsement by Trump.

When asked by the moderators about the thumbs-up this month from the president, considering Trump’s low approval ratings, Hilton leaned into the endorsement. He then shifted to a good relationship with the federal government as one that will benefit California, claiming that the state and Trump can work on better forest management, increasing energy production, and going after fraud.

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“It is a deep honor for me to be endorsed by the president of the United States,” he said. “And here’s the thing that’s going to help every Californian when I’m governor, is that we will have a constructive relationship and partnership with the federal government.”

Hilton did little wrong, but nor did he do enough to put daylight between him and the chasing pack.

The former congresswoman is in third behind Steyer and Becerra among the Democratic candidates. Her candidacy has suffered from a video that surfaced in October showing her yelling at a staffer during a video meeting.

Asked about the incident, Porter said she apologized to the staffer and that it was “not the right way to treat someone.”

Porter’s strongest moment during Wednesday’s debate came as a response to Hilton’s answer on combatting homelessness, a population that the Republican said could benefit from widespread drug treatment.

Porter responded: “You would learn in my bankruptcy and consumer protection class that the majority of homeless people in California are actually working. They’re not just people on the streets. It’s not just people with mental illness or people with drug or substance use problems. … If we demonize them from one perspective, we’ll never be able to solve this problem.”

Porter was composed and thoughtful throughout but lacked the dynamism of a breakout performance.

Despite an eye-popping amount of money backing him from Silicon Valley and wealthy donors, Mahan has not seen a significant uptick in his polling numbers in recent weeks, suggesting that his chances to advance past the June primary are slim.

He made some of the most aggressive moves among the candidates as the debate opened, going after Steyer’s track record as an investor in a company linked to immigration detention centers. (Steyer has called the investment a mistake.)

He also called out Hilton’s Trump endorsement and described Becerra as a “D.C. insider who the Democratic establishment is now rallying around.”

Mahan was studied and reasoned but needed something more explosive to make up the ground with the leading pack.

The Southern California sheriff offered perhaps the most conservative view onstage, railing against Democratic control of the state, squashing ideas of any new taxes, and pushing back on the idea that racial profiling could take place while enforcing the law.

One of the most spicy moments occurred between Bianco and one of the moderators when he was asked about his seizure of 650,000 ballots from the state’s 2025 election in response to assertions of fraud. Bianco was pressed on whether he would take similar action after the primary election if he isn’t confident in the results.

“You made that assumption that that’s why this happened,” Bianco replied. “That is absolutely horrific, that you basically said that I did that because of how I felt. I’ve been 33 years in law enforcement investigating crime. Do you want me to start doing that with murders? This is an absolutely ridiculous question.”

Bianco, who wore his conservative credentials on his sleeve, is unlikely to have won many new converts.